In various fields of manufacture, such as the making of electronic components, it is sometimes desired to apply resins or other materials in liquid form to objects under conditions of varying degrees of vacuum, so as to ensure their being degassified; the material so applied subsequently becoming hardened by drying, the application of heat, etc. Thus, for example, box-like elements containing circuit components may be filled with such materials; such operations being sometimes referred to as "potting" and the materials so applied as "potting compounds". In so doing, the usual practice has been to load the objects with the potting compound applied, into an evacuable container, seal the container, and then apply vacuum to it to perform the desired operations. The excessive handling and time delay problems attendant such procedures will be obvious.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide apparatus for the vacuum potting of objects.
Another object of this invention is to provide such apparatus in a form which is portable.
Still another object of this invention is to provide apparatus for achieving the foregoing objectives in a form in which the application of the potting compound can take place in an evacuated environment.
Yet another object of this invention is to provide apparatus to achieve the foregoing objectives in a form which permits easy regulation of the degree of vacuum and rate of flow to which the potting compound is exposed in the course of application.